The United Kingdom has officially enacted a new law to safeguard children from damaging online material. Beginning this Friday, March 11, this unprecedented legislation becomes reality. It requires online platforms to use age verification technology to prevent minors from accessing harmful content. The law is very focused on pornography websites only, requiring that they confirm the age of their users.
To follow the new rules, a number of large online services in the U.K. have made changes. First, they rolled out age-gate verification for all their users. Reddit, Bluesky, X and Grindr are some of the early services to adopt these new requirements. Users trying to access these sites now have to verify their age before continuing. This bill represents a step to making the digital world a safer place for youth users.
Age-verification methods, as specified by the law, involve selfies and government-issued ID. These measures enable platforms to better identify their users’ ages. Therefore, they are able to censor access to material deemed unsuitable for children. The law covers all websites doing business in the U.K., no matter where their corporate offices are located.
We are pleased that the legislation has included measures to protect children, and we urge its passage. It protects them from toxic content that would otherwise impact their development and mental health. In requiring stringent age verification, the U.K. government is acting to create a healthier digital environment for younger users.